Novak Djokovic recovered from two sets to one down to defeat Lorenzo Musetti at the 2024 French Open in the latest finish in the tournament’s history.
The world No 1 credited the crowd for helping him become a “different player” to turn the match around and suggested the contest was the best match he has ever played at Roland Garros.
Djokovic overcame Musetti 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in a third round thriller that lasted four hours and 29 minutes and finished at 3:07am in Paris — comfortably the latest-ever finish to a match at the event.
The 37-year-old Serbian came from a break down to win a tight opening set, before losing a lengthy second set in a tiebreak after leading 4-1 and having a set point.
Musetti, the world No 30, broke twice to take the third set convincingly and looked in with a real chance of pulling off a big upset at 2-2 in the fourth set.
From there, though, Djokovic allowed the 22-year-old just one more game as he surged to the finish line to complete an impressive comeback.
This victory was Djokovic’s 369th Grand Slam match win and saw him tie his great rival Roger Federer’s record in this category.
It is the second time Djokovic has defeated Musetti in five sets at the French Open after he came back from two sets to love behind against the Italian in the fourth round in 2021. That year, he went on to claim his second title at the clay-court Grand Slam.
In his on-court interview, Djokovic hailed Musetti’s performance and thanked the Parisian crowd for staying so late and inspiring him to win.
“I want to express my respect for Lorenzo, it was a great battle. One of us had to lose,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said.
“I was a little lucky at the beginning of the fourth set, because he was stronger up until then. I couldn’t find solutions… he was impenetrable. He did everything very well and made very few mistakes.
“You guys gave me energy from 2-2 in the fourth set and from then on I was a different player… thank you so much. It’s incredible that you are still here, including some kids at 3 in the morning. Maybe it was the best match I’ve played here in forever.”
Djokovic will face world No 27 Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round on Monday as he continues his title defence and bid for a fourth Roland Garros crown.
Be the first to comment